Who cares? Honestly, must we have it shoved in our faces all the time? You know what I’m referencing. The Gay.

It’s everywhere these days. A person can’t look past their autographed poster of Rick Santorum without someone in the sports world coming out of the closet or supporting someone who came out of the closet or saying they couldn’t give a fig if a teammate happens to be gay.

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Hardly a surprise to anyone who’s ever hopped a cable car on Powell Street, the San Francisco Giants have joined the fracas by becoming the first professional team to participate in what might be the most flamboyant campaign to date.

Again, who cares what someone does in the bedroom behind closed doors? Well, pitchers Matt Cain, Barry Zito and Sergio Romo, center fielder Andres Torres and batting coach Hensley "Bam Bam" Meulens care very much. Not necessarily about the private particulars, because those aren’t any more interesting than the private particulars of, for instance, Santorum and the presidential candidate’s lovely wife, Karen.

But the prejudice, ignorance and hateful bigotry that shadows those particulars? Put it this way: The first five Giants asked to participate in an “It Gets Better” video couldn’t say yes fast enough. If the entire San Francisco roster plus most everyone who works at AT&T Park had been given the opportunity, the video would have run into extra innings.

As it is, it’s just two seconds shy of an eye-popping, stereotype-snapping minute. Aimed at supporting young people who are being harassed because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, the project already was groundbreaking in its scope. The addition of the defending world champions launched it into territory still proudly populated by macho homophobes.

In uniform, with an empty ballpark the stage, the five Giants turn toward the camera and uniquely state their case. While it might appear they’re speaking directly to the gay community—lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, or LGBT—the not-so-subtle nudge is a verbal fastball aimed at all the pea-brains who think bullying is cool.

Says Romo, the native Californian of Mexican-American descent who was one of the Giants’ self-named “beards” during last season’s wild trip through the World Series (but not that kind of beard): “We've all been there and had to deal with the pressure to fit in and be accepted by our peers.”

Says Cain, in a slight Southern drawl that reveals his Alabama and Tennessee upbringing: “It's particularly challenging for LGBT teens who face adversity and intolerance in their daily lives.”

Says Zito, known as much for raising money for wounded war veterans as he is for his heartbreaking curveball: “We speak for the entire Giants organization when we say that there is no place in society for hatred and bullying against anyone.”

Says Meulens, the eclectic, gregarious coach who’s fluent in five languages and soon to be a passenger in an upcoming space mission (seriously): “Please know that you have an amazing future in front of you,” and then, in Japanese, he, too, adds, “It gets better.”

Meulens’ appreciation for diverse cultures took root in his native Curaçao, where he was raised by a Spanish-speaking mother and a father who spoke Papiamento, a Creole language indigenous to the island. Meulens was taught Dutch at the age of 6, English a few years later, and he picked up Japanese when he took his skills to the Nippon Professional Baseball league after a so-so career with the New York Yankees.

“It’s my job to communicate with players who are frustrated or in slumps,” Meulens says. “Why wouldn’t I want to try communicating with people who are facing challenges that are much worse?” He reckons it’s the duty “of all humans to make the world a safer place.”

What an insanely controversial notion. What a risky proposition. Indeed, shortly after the Giants’ video was released last week, a poster typing under the name “namgnah” wrote on a website: “Cain now has zero value in the trade and free agent market.”

Yep, the rest of baseball shall shun Cain not because of his fluctuating walk rates but because he’s bummed LGBT teens often bear an unreasonable amount of pain as they try to find their way in life.

Who cares? According to recent surveys and investigations, suicide is the third-leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds in America, trailing accidents and homicide, and the No. 4 cause of death for children between the ages of 10 and 14. While the reasons are varied, experts cite bullying or ostracism over one’s sexual preference as one of the prevailing motivations for teens and pre-teens wanting to end their life.

“We all know it’s really difficult to be a teenager no matter who you are. It’s particularly challenging for LGBT teens. We fail these kids if we’re not doing all we can to prevent them from killing themselves because they feel isolated or all alone,” said Giants senior vice president of communications Staci Slaughter, the team’s behind-the-scenes liaison for the project.

It began with an online petition on Change.org, the world’s fastest-growing platform for social change, orchestrated by a lifelong Giants fan named Sean Chapin who was dismayed by homophobic slurs uttered by Atlanta Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant. A 35-year-old accountant, Chapin used his Twitter, Facebook and YouTube feeds to fuel the movement. The Giants’ front office embraced the challenge.

After all, no other team operates in such a uniquely tolerant city. The Giants’ proud history of supporting the LGBT community dates to 1994, when they became the first MLB club to dedicate a game to “Until There’s A Cure” Day, to raise money for HIV/AIDS research. They championed “Stop The Violence” Days at the ballpark back in the ice ages when domestic violence simply wasn’t talked about.

“This project may seem in some corners of the world or the country as controversial but equality and fairness has always been very important to us as an organization,” Slaughter said. “The feedback has been unbelievable, overwhelmingly, extremely positive. I can’t tell you how many season ticket holders have told us, ‘Once again, you make us proud.’”

In an online petition aimed at his beloved team, Maden wrote: “Every day, gay and lesbian teens in middle school and high school are made fun of and bullied. It's sad that some of them are bullied so badly, they commit suicide ... My name is Sam, I am 12 years old and my two friends and I really like the Boston Red Sox. We have looked up ways to change our community, and our country. On YouTube and Facebook you can see examples of 'It Gets Better' videos. There are hundreds. So please can you make a video to help young gay and lesbian teens? You can help us save lives one teen at a time?”

After more than 9,000 people signed Maden's petition, the Red Sox announced they, too, will partake in a video supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. Also raising their hands are the Chicago Cubs; bets are the Yankees and the Mets will be next in line.

Once social change gains momentum, it’s shameful to look back. All baseball-loving school children know Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. They must think society was perverted to ever believe a person’s skin was reason enough to push intolerance, bigotry and moral superiority.

Recent events suggest another sea change is afoot. Rick Welts, the Phoenix Suns executive who didn’t dare publicly mourn his partner’s death for fear his homosexuality might become public, announced last month he was gay, and the folks screaming “Who Cares?” are likely the same folks who don’t care that more than half the 50 states still have laws making it legal to refuse service to homosexuals.

Brendon Ayanbadejo, a Baltimore Ravens linebacker, starred in a video supporting Maryland's failed marriage equality proposition, asking voters to “join me in the land of the brave for standing on the side of love." Sean Avery of the New York Rangers and Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns endorsed same-sex marriage. What’s next, people getting married for money?

Charles Barkley said he'd rather have a gay teammate who could play than a straight teammate who couldn’t, and somewhere another legend must have been nodding. Remember when Willie Mays was asked if baseball was ready for an openly gay player? “Can he hit?” came Mays’ retort.

Who cares? Hudson Taylor, an All-America wrestler who’s now a coach at Columbia, and British rugby star Ben Cohen are two heterosexual athletes from opposite sides of the pond engaged in the same cause. Upon retiring from international play, Cohen, a member of England’s 2003 World Cup-winning side, vowed to devote his time to his StandUp Foundation, a cause he says is dedicated to “eradicating homophobia in sport.”

Taylor, a 24-year-old from New Jersey who also happens to be a devotee of Martin Luther King’s teachings, says he and his generation are responsible for carving their own history–and if something is “unjust or unequal” it’s their obligation to fight for change. Who cares? As Hudson notes, the question we should be asking ought to be flipped.

“Why don’t you care?” he says. “Because to not care is dangerous and dehumanizing.”

If one child learns it’s unacceptable to taunt or torture others for their sexuality or gender identification, if one adult’s mind is opened, if even one life is spared, there’s a little less hate for all of us to bear. That alone seems reason enough to care.